US History 2017

📑 Outline

1. Introduction
2. Overview of British Advent: Timeline and Context
3. Political Impact
   • A. Institutional Legacy
   • B. Development of Self-Government
4. Economic Impact
   • A. Mercantilism and Resource Extraction
   • B. Rise of Plantation Economy and Slavery
5. Social and Demographic Impact
   • A. Displacement of Native Americans
   • B. Ethnic Settlements and Immigration
6. Religious and Cultural Impact
   • A. Protestant Ethics and American Identity
   • B. English Language, Law, and Education
7. Long-Term Effects on U.S. Constitution and Political Philosophy
8. Critical Evaluation
9. Conclusion

1. Introduction

The British advent in the territory that would become the United States began in the early 17th century with the establishment of colonies along the Atlantic seaboard. Over nearly two centuries, Britain’s influence shaped America’s political institutions, economic structures, and cultural landscape, laying the groundwork for both colonial unity and eventual rebellion.

“The United States was born in the English tradition, though it matured in its own revolutionary spirit.” — Bernard Bailyn

2. Overview of British Advent: Timeline and Context

• 1607: First permanent English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia
• 1620: Arrival of Pilgrims at Plymouth; Mayflower Compact
• 1660s–1700s: Expansion into 13 colonies
• British rule persisted until the Declaration of Independence in 1776

3. Political Impact
4. Institutional Legacy

• Common law system, trial by jury, and property rights derived from English jurisprudence
• Concepts like due process, rule of law, and limited government were inherited
• Introduction of representative institutions (e.g., Virginia House of Burgesses, 1619)

1. Development of Self-Government

• British allowed some autonomy, leading to local legislatures and colonial assemblies
• Ironically, these seeds of self-rule became catalysts for the American Revolution

“English political traditions gave Americans the tools to demand liberty from English kings.” — Gordon S. Wood

4. Economic Impact
5. Mercantilism and Resource Extraction

• Colonies served as raw material suppliers and markets for British goods
• Enforced through Navigation Acts (1651–73)
• This created resentment and economic dependency

1. Rise of Plantation Economy and Slavery

• In the South, Britain encouraged large-scale tobacco and cotton plantations
• This created a reliance on African slave labor, especially post-Transatlantic Slave Trade (1660s onward)

“The British imperial model linked wealth with slavery in a way that would haunt American history.” — Howard Zinn

5. Social and Demographic Impact
6. Displacement of Native Americans

• British expansion led to warfare, disease, and displacement
• Conflicts like King Philip’s War (1675–76) and the Powhatan Wars decimated indigenous tribes

1. Ethnic Settlements and Immigration

• Scots-Irish, Welsh, and English Puritans brought diverse customs
• Town-based New England vs. plantation South reflected cultural divergence within British rule

“British colonization did not bring unity, but the seeds of regional identity that would shape the U.S.” — David Hackett Fischer

6. Religious and Cultural Impact
7. Protestant Ethics and American Identity

• Puritan values—hard work, moral discipline, and community responsibility—shaped American work ethic
• Religious pluralism emerged (Anglicans in Virginia, Puritans in Massachusetts, Quakers in Pennsylvania)

1. Language, Law, and Education

• English became lingua franca, even among later non-British immigrants
• Harvard (1636) and Yale (1701) established as British-style liberal arts institutions
• Legal traditions like habeas corpus and presumption of innocence became standard

7. Long-Term Effects on U.S. Constitution and Political Philosophy

• British political theorists (e.g., John Locke) influenced U.S. founding fathers
• Concepts of social contract, natural rights, and limited government were crucial to Declaration of Independence and Constitution
• The Federalist Papers show direct lineage to British Enlightenment thinking

“The American Revolution was a continuation, not a rejection, of the British liberal tradition.” — Isaiah Berlin

8. Critical Evaluation

British advent provided the skeleton of modern America, but also entrenched inequality, economic dependence, and racial hierarchies that would take centuries to resolve.

9. Conclusion

The British presence in the American colonies was paradoxical: it established the principles of liberty and governance that Americans would later use to revolt against the Crown. Britain’s political, economic, and cultural legacies deeply embedded themselves into the American identity, making the U.S. an heir to the British Empire—but with a revolutionary spirit.

“America is Britain’s greatest gift to the world—and her greatest rebellion.” — Simon Schama